FINCHforum

Do we have any important points which needs to be considered before fostering chicks to foster parent pairs....like chicks should be within some minimum/maximum age limits, whether more than one chick can be fostered at the same time to the same fostering parent pairs....etc

There is no age minimum for fostering and any number of eggs/chicks can be fostered but foster parents should be prepared ahead of time.

You really only want to foster if absolutely necessary, and some pairs will care for chicks of certain species but not others. I only foster if I have live chicks who have been abandoned, or eggs from a valuable pair who for some reason have quit sitting.

Liz & Hilary have raised some very good points there for everyone that is considering or using fosters

I agree that fosters should only be used when necessary. If you have a species that is readily available and inexpensive, it doesn't make much sense to foster. Fostering is not fool-proof--fosters may feed for a week and then abandon, just like the parents, or they may not feed at all. I have fostered BCCB eggs, because I can't get the parents to sit, and I have fostered Strawberries, because the parents toss. Some people have used fosters to increase production, letting the parent hen wear herself out producing eggs while the Societies raise the babies--sort of makes me think of puppy mills.

Good point about feeding. I had a pair that was happy to sit on my little BCCB chick and keep her warm, but never did feed her until after she fledged - I was responsible for every single feeding (lazy little buggers).

Thanks for everyone responses . I am just collecting all these info for making my own personal note which might come handy in case of any unexpected emergencies.

How do we know whether a egg/chick is abandoned by parent birds. Also is there any precautions which we need to take while fostering. How long we can keep the egg/chick outside nest after taking it out from the biological parents nest and before transferring the same to the fostering parents nest.